A sense of place

By year's end, scientists will fill Scripps Research Institute in Jupiter, looking for ways to cure diseases.

But, for the time being, a construction team is working just as hard to build these complicated structures.

The 351,803-square-foot Scripps Florida complex is to be divided among three, three-story buildings. One will have chemistry labs, another will have biology labs and the third will have a cafeteria, auditorium and classrooms. A lake will be between them. The dominant architectural feature is a 134-foot-tall DNA double helix, which serves as a spire, similar to how church would display a cross.

That distinct spire was the joint brainchild of Eb Zeidler, the co-architect, and Palm Beach resident Alexander Dreyfoos, a Scripps trustee.

Other feats of architectural showmanship will be kept to a minimum.

"Scripps is keen on making sure the money is being spent on the labs," project director Deborah Beetson said. "Inside the building, you won't see a lot of interesting architecture, but you will see very organized labs."

The average lab in one of these buildings will be 12,000 square feet.

It took months to design the buildings' 294 tons of ductwork for restrictive airflow, 55 miles of plumbing for purified water and gases, and 473 miles of electrical wiring.

In most cases, the gas pipes will deploy from the ceiling and hang over the lab benches.

The construction cost is budgeted at $160 million, which is being funded by Palm Beach County. The project manager has made sure that 15 percent of the work goes to local small business enterprises.

Ben Morris, VP of facility services for Scripps, said the interior of the Jupiter buildings will be similar to its La Jolla, Calif., headquarters. But they will be more colorful on the outside to match South Florida's style.